Demo Swaps.. so much FUN

Once a month, the Jacksonville Starz Demonstrator Group gets together for a business meeting and swap.  We share business tips and information, review upcoming events and specials, and offer assistance and advice regarding business.  Swapping is a great part of being a demonstrator... sometimes you need a little jump start, fresh ideas, or a new perspective on stamping.  Our swap group is great for that, all the participating demonstrators value the swaps they receive, and put a lot of thought into the swaps they give.  It's also fun to see new stampers turned demonstrator 'grow' in their stamping.  All the cards are supposed to be kept simple and re-creatable, suitable for workshops.  This month, they were all FABULOUS too!!  Scroll down to see everyone's samples!

Here's my card, somewhat inspired by the mojo monday challenge:

 

Stamps:  Polka Dot Punches, On Your Birthday ; Card Stock:  Close to Cocoa, Bashful Blue, Whisper White; accessories:  sponge daubers, circle punches, designer dots DSP

And here are the lovely swaps I received!

Gina's Swap -- I love how she punched the square out of the card front and then layered the elegant thank you and basic black square on top of it.  The three brads accentuate the card and give it a very formal 'tuxedo' look, don't you think?  Visit Gina's Blog, Red Roses Stamper for more of her simple and classy cards!

Christina's Card -- check out my post tomorrow (I cased Christina!)  I love the rose red and chocolate chip combo used with the heartfelt thanks stamp set!

Susan's Card (StampingInferno)... love the bright colors on this Dawn Griffith Case!  I'm adding this one for my stamp a stack on Sunday too!

And last, Lee's card (StampingLeeYours) using the Botanical Blooms sale a bration set (free with a $50.00 order online or through me!)

Aren't they all fabulous??

See you tomorrow!

Sharon

Technorati Tags: swaps,sale a bration,demonstrators

A Good Egg, and Fifth Avenue Floral Easter Cards

These are cards made for the Seniors Stampin' Club at the Jim Fortuna Center here in Jacksonville, Florida. 

The first card uses the lily image from the "Fifth Avenue Floral" stamp set.  The lily was cut out, glittered with Dazzling Diamonds and popped up with stampin' dimensionals.  It's a simple yet stunning card that was difficult to capture on film!

Supplies:  Fifth Avenue Floral and A Good Egg Stamp Sets; Large Scalloped Oval Frame Sizzix die, sponge daubers, Delicate Dots DSP, Sale-A-Bration Ribbon Bundle, Large Oval, and Designer Label Punches; Certainly Celery, Whisper White, and Always Apricot Card Stock, sponge dauber and Certainly Celery Classic Ink

Supplies:  A Good Egg Stamp Set; Delicate Dots DSP; Whisper White, Bashful Blue, and Pacific Blue Card Stock; Pacific Blue Classic Ink; Bashful Blue narrow grosgrain ribbon; sponge dauber; word window punch, Always Apricot Stampin' Write Marker; Embossing Stylus (to make the dots on the egg shell).

See you tomorrow!

Sharon

Technorati Tags: Good Egg,Manhattan Flower,Easter Cards

Cards for My Alden Road Girls

Quick and cute... simple cards with a learning undertone for my Girls Card Club at the Alden Road School.  For the past couple of weeks, I've been diligently punching all my scraps of card stock and DSP in order to accumulate a bountiful supply of assorted shapes.  I'll drop off my stash of shapes so the girls can continue to create cards and perhaps mentor their peers in card making too!

These first couple of cards I call my Haiku cards.  Representing elements of the earth... blue water and sky, yellow sun, brown soil, yellow sun, green foilage, and flowers.  I'm sure they'll have lots of fun creating Haiku Cards themselves!  (The first one is my personal favorite!)

Scroll down to see the rest of the cards we'll experiment with too...

 

The butterfly 'wings' were made with a flower image from the Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set.. perfect for butterflies!

See you tomorrow

Sharon

Technorati Tags: Alden Road,Haiku,Punches

5 Petal Flower Punch Play

Got just a little carried away with the 5 petal flower punch today!  Looking at a scrap of paper I had punched, I realized this punch would make a great peek-a-boo card.  (Peek-a-boo card:  punched on the front to reveal same image displayed on the inside of the card.)

The first card I created had bravo burgundy on the inside of the card... and then I realized there was no where to write a message to the recipient!  Oops... not a good idea, but it did inspire card #2!  After quickly re-working the card, this is what I came up with:

And here is a picture of the re-worked inside of the card:

 

As you can see, the leaves actually overlap the punched images a bit on the front (left side) of the card.  The punched images are attached on the inside of the card... I'm still looking for olives (the front actually reminds me of olive branches.)

Supplies:  Stem Silhouettes stamp set; confetti white, bravo burgundy and old olive card stock. Little leaves sizzlit, 5-petal flower punch, flower trio punch, dimensional dots, sponge dauber, bravo burgundy ink.

The second card I made was inspired by the goof up on the inside of my first attempt, I like the strong colors and contrast  on this card... simple to make, and lots of writing space on the inside too!

Supplies:  5 - petal flower punch, little leaves sizzlit, sponge dauber, 3 flower punch, sincere salutations stamp set, Bravo Burgundy, Old Olive, and Confetti White Card Stock, Bravo Burgundy Ink

Which one do you like best?

Have a good day!

Sharon

Technorati Tags: 5-petal flower punch,punch cards,bravo burgundy

Stuck in the Sahara Sand with a little Burgundy, Bravo that is..

Working on Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge Yesterday, I kind of got stuck on the Sahara Sand, Whisper White and Bravo Burgundy color combination.  I was playing with the Delicate Dots DSP and created a couple more cards. 

This was actually the first one I created using the Sale A Bration Set Polka Dot Punches.  When I finished this card and set back to critique it, all I could see was a Christmas Card (oops... wrong season!)  Even though the images had nothing to do with a Christmas theme... I tossed aside and went on to re-create the card.  I was much more satisfied with the second card, even though it didn't use any of the Delicate Dots DSP:

Of course, I need to tweak it a bit with my paper snips... now that the I see it up close!  Of the 4 cards I made, I think this was my favorite!

Supplies

Stamps:  Sincere Salutations, Polka Dot Punches

Card Stock:  Bravo Burgundy, Whisper White, Sahara Sand

Classic Ink:  Sahara Sand, Bravo Burgundy

Punches:  1 1/4" circle, Spiral, Corner Rounder, and Eyelet Border

Accessories: Sponge Daubers, 1/4" Bravo Burgundy Grosgrain Ribbon, Dimensional Dots

Have a really good week!  And P.S.  Happy Birthday Kristin!

Sharon

Technorati Tags: Delicate Dots,DSP,Sahara Sand

I just had to do it... Another Mojo Monday 75 Card

Sorry for the double post.  After scurrying around the house and contemplating picking through the garbage to locate my DH's missing cell phone, I found it!  The missing phone was lodged about 18" off the floor of my car, between the seat and the side of the car! 

So, given the reprieve, I really had to revisit the Mojo Monday Challenge... and give it another whirl.

Here is the second card I made this morning, featuring the Thoughts& Prayers Stamp Set, and Parisian Breeze DSP.  I like it much better!

Thanks for visiting!

Sharon

Technorati Tags: Mojo Monday,Challenge,Parisian breeze

 

Mojo Monday 75 Birthday Card

Not a good morning!  My husband has misplaced his cell phone and we're afraid he left it at the grocery store.  He's a little bit of a control freak, so this is big!  I suspended his service this very early morning... to prevent unauthorized use and access.

I took a few minutes to throw together this quick card for the Mojo Monday 75 challenge using the Delicate Dots designer series paper, bravo burgundy, and confetti white Card Stock.  The stamp set is "On Your Birthday."

Here's the original sketch:

And, here's my card..

And now I'm off to tear apart the house to look for my DH's cell phone!  Hope you have a better day!

Sharon

Technorati Tags: Mojo Monday,Challenge,Sketch,delicate Dots

WSC69 Two Cards, One Sketch

Whew... after my stamp class today I decided to clean out my rather full inboxes... and came across a Feedblitz subscription with Beate's weekend Sketch Challenge.  I realized I needed to sit down and make a few cards to post, and so thought... why not!

Here is Beate's Sketch (click on the image to visit her blog):

And.. here is the first card I made for the WSC69 challenge:

Stamps:  On Your Birthday and Petal Pizzaz; Card Stock:  Bravo Burgundy, Whisper White and Sahara Sand;  Classic Ink:  Bravo Burgundy, Sahara Sand;  Accessories:  Organza Ribbon, Delicate Dots Designer Series Paper, and Eyelet Border Punch

My daughters' birthday is next week, so I used the greeting from "On Your Birthday."  Once completed, however I realized the bravo burgundy color lends itself a bit towards Florida State Colors (even with the absence of gold..) and she's a DIE HARD GATORS FAN!  (Oooops!)  So I reworked the card using the same WSC69 sketch from Beate's site and true Gator Colors and taking a little creative liberty with the sketch straight up and down side element.  The blooms were cut with the Cherry Blossom Embossing Sizzlit and then Only Orange was sponged onto the raised surfaces using a sponge dauber.  The blooms were also layered and inter-twined by cutting one petal layer of two white blooms, and two cuts on the middle white bloom.

Stamps:  On Your Birthday;  Card Stock:  Brilliant Blue, Only Orange, Whisper White; Classic Ink:  Only Orange and Brilliant Blue; Accessories:  Sponge Daubers, Eyelet Border Punch, Cherry Blossom Embossing Sizzlit

I hope she likes her birthday card... she thinks she should get one every day of her 'birthday month' perhaps she's just a little bit spoiled!!

Sharon

Technorati Tags: WSC69,Beate,Challenge

Chalked Soot Stamping Technique and Cards

As promised... here are the Chalked Soot Stamping Cards we did at this week's Techniques' Class!  I like this card way better than the one I posted back in December of 2006, don't you?

The first Chalked Soot Stamping card uses only the solid floral images from the tried and true veteran stamp set "Heartfelt Thanks"... certainly an oldie but goodie! 

Stamps:  Heartfelt Thanks  Card Stock:  Baja Breeze, Basic Gray, Whisper White  Classic Ink:  Basic Gray

The second card also uses the chalked soot stamping technique and the leaf image from the hostess set God's Beauty.   I wasn't sure what to expect when I tried this the in prep for my techniques class as the leaf is an open image stamp, not solid like the blossoms in heartfelt thanks.

 

Stamps:  God's Beauty  Card Stock:  Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery  Classic Inks:  Certainly Celery, Chocolate Chip, versa mark

So how is it done?  Basically you soot the piece of glossy card stock with the flame of a taper similar to how it's done in Beate Johns' Soot Stamping Tutorial on Splitcoast Stampers... only we used an old versa mark ink pad too (make sure it's an old one... it's going to mess it up a whole lot!)

1. Soot the glossy card stock using a flaming taper candle.
2. Stamp image in old versa mark pad
3. Stamp the sooted glossy card stock twice with the image.  The first stamped image will take off a lot of soot.  The second one won't take as much and will give depth to your image.
4. Repeat step 3 until the entire piece of sooted glossy card stock is covered with stamped images.
5. Take your sooted and stamped image outside (fresh air is good) and spray with Plaid Clear Acrylic Sealer MATTE* Spray  If you've ever done any spray painting, you already know that there is a technique to using spray paint:  shake the can well, begin spraying OFF of the image, slowly drifting over it while holding the can about 8-10 inches above the work.  Spray in a back and forth motion... slow motion.
6. Wait 10-15 minutes until your image is dry to the touch, and then repeat step 5. (Yes, you are spraying the image twice.)  Follow the manufacturer's recommendations for clearing the nozzle when spraying is complete.
7. Wait 10-15 minutes, or speed the drying process with a heat gun.
8. When the image is dry, this is a good time to trim away any burned edges or re-size the image for mounting on your card or scrap book page.
9. Now, use a chalk pastels and a make-up q-tip or sponge applicator to add color to your stamped images.  Don't be too conservative here... get a little wild with the color!
10. Gently tap off or blow any loose chalk particles from the stamped image.
11. Take it outside again (don't want to asphyxiate yourself!)  Spray with PLAID CLEAR ACRYLIC SEALER GLOSS*  using the method described in step 5.  Don't over soak the image, your colors will run (an interesting technique in itself too.)  The chalk will mute considerably and you will love the effects!
12. Use a heat gun to dry the image, taking care not to over heat.  You're done!

* PLAID Clear Acrylic Sealer Gloss and Matte is essential to this project.  I have tried Krylon and other sprays, but do not achieve the same results.  These sprays are available in 6oz and 12 oz cans (maybe more sizes.. who knows?)  The vapors should not be inhaled... you must do this outside!  The label on the can is done in Black, white, and pacific blue?... and says "Patricia Nimocks.. the magic name in crafts" and "Decorative Crafts"  I purchased my Plaid spray at a local craft and hobby store.

Another Note:  You want to do this outside... but if it is too windy, your project may take flight.  It may be easier to put the card stock inside a box and then spray.  Objects from nearby trees can also land on your project... so take care to give it adequate protection from an array of flying objects too!

I'd love to see your Chalked Soot Samples too... leave a comment with a link and I'll be sure to check them out!  Have a really good day!

Sharon

Technorati Tags: Chalked Soot Stamping,Technique,Plaid,Splitcoaststampers,soot stamping

Techniques Class... Three Soot Stamped Cards with a Twist

Way back in Fall of 2006, I held a really fun soot stamping with a twist class based on this 'new' technique which was all the rage.  I still have my original 'soot' cards on my Stampin' Up! Idea Board, and often am questioned about the "hand painted" or "sepia"photographs used in those cards.  Soot stamping is kind of a messy thing... and that whole 'playing with fire' thing, and sealer sprays, and smells...  But at the insistence of my techniques class attendees, I decided to revisit the soot medium this past week. 

Looking back at my SplitcoastStampers Gallery is kind of funny... stamping techniques, images, and styles have all changed quite a bit!  I played around with soot stamping a bit... and decided to take it one step further with chalk pastels.  Here is my original "Chalked Soot Stamping" card which was posted in my gallery on 12/20/2006 (sharonstamps).  Remember that corner punch?... sure wish SU still carried it!

Stamps:  Heartfelt Thanks; Card Stock:  Bashful Blue, Close To Cocoa  Classic Ink:  Close to Cocoa

Funny, when I first came up with chalked soot stamping, I wasn't really sure what to do with the images I'd created!! I'm almost embarrassed to share this simple card... it was really in need of some more stamping!!  But that was waaaaay back in 2006, and as stamps have changed, so has my style.  (But not my love of inventive play while stamping away the day!)

So... for my soot stamping class, I decided to revisit my chalked soot stamping technique, touch on the basic soot stamping technique, and also visit the reverse soot stamping technique.  (Really more than enough for one morning technique class, don't you think?  Barely enough time left for food!)

This is the reverse soot stamping card we did... a CASE of a swap received from my up-line (Lee Conrey)  and posted on my blog on Oct. 30th 2008.  I changed the orientation, and added a black card base to make it a little more in my own style...

Stamps:  Happiness is a Journey   Card Stock:  Basic Black, Very Vanilla  Classic Ink:  Basic Black

The reverse soot stamping technique is done by stamping an image in Versa Mark Ink onto glossy card stock.  The gloss is then turned to soot using a flaming tapered candle.  There's a trick to it, you have to move the taper steadily and not too slow or too fast while holding the card stock at 'just' the right angle.  The whole piece of card stock turns black (messy), and after allowing it to set and dry, the image is polished with a soft tissue using small circular motions.   Be sure to start with a larger piece of glossy card stock than you need... the edges almost always catch on fire, and will need to be trimmed anyway!

You can read the basic soot stamping tutorial by Beate Johns may be found on Splitcoast Stampers HERE.  There's also a wonderful tutorial for soot stamping using a brayer, I believe she calls it Colored Soot Stamping.... but it's NOT Chalked Soot Stamping... I'll post how to do that along with my samples tomorrow so stay tuned!

Sharon

Technorati Tags: soot stamping,splitcoaststampers,chalked soot stamping,reverse soot stamping

Just A Note a Quick Raspberry Tart DSP Card

This was a really quick card made with a scrap of Raspberry Tart Designer Series Paper. The image stamped along the right edge of the whisper white card layer is the large solid bloom from the Dream A Little Hostess Level 3 Stamp set. The image was stamped repeatedly along the edge, in a similar fashion to yesterday's Mojo Monday Challenge 74 card.

The picture doesn't really show it.. but a background 'pop' of color has also been added to this card... Here's a corner close up:

The pretty in pink layer was cut to the standard A2 card size, or 4.25 x 5.5 inches, and the card itself becomes 4 1/8" x 5 3/8"... (8 1/4"" x 5 3/8"" and scored at 4 1/8".) It's a fun way to add just a bit more color to an otherwise simply layered card.

Stamps: Dream A Little, Elegant Cheer

Card Stock: Whisper White, Pretty in Pink

Classic Ink: Pretty in Pink

Accessories: Sponge Dauber, 1/4" Pretty In Pink grosgrain ribbon, curly label punch, Soft Subtle brad, Stampin' Dimensionals, Raspberry Tart Designer Series Paper.

Have a good day!

Sharon

Technorati Tags: Raspberry Tart DSP,Dream A Little,Elegant Cheer

2 x 3 Photo Brag Book

I had a crazy stamping week... and the state of my stamping room speaks volumes evidencing that fact!  Working on multiple projects for me translates into MESS... and a big one at that.  My stamping table is filled with scraps of card stock designer series paper, ribbon, and On Board Chipboard!  I will have to devote most of today to cleaning, sorting, and re-organizing.  That said, MESS also translates into productivity and creativity for me.. I'm not the quintessential neat and organized stamper... I'm much more like the Tasmanian Devil cartoon character, spinning rapidly through paper, stamps and projects until I come to a sudden stop... and that's when I have to clean.

This project was a little bit of a personal challenge.  I really enjoy making my own books, and have taken many classes in book making techniques.  Not too long ago, I found a cute little photo flip book in a local craft store.  Although my original intention was to cover the book in designer series papers, upon closer examination, I decided the pictures slots were way too small.   I'm not sure exactly what they were supposed to hold... perhaps those tiny photo booth pictures or your old drivers' license photo?  Anyway, I redrafted the book so that 2x3 photos would fit nicely into the slots, after all 2x3 is a more standard photo size!

The paper used on the covers of this book is the new textured Parisian Breeze designer series paper from Stampin' Up!  I love the Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, and Kraft colors in these papers!  The floral, striped, dotted, and checked patterns coordinate beautifully too! The covers were made from On Board Chipboard from Stampin' Up! which I cut down to 3.75 inches x 4.75 inches.  The kraft card stock accordion spine is covered with a 1" x 4.75" On Board chipboard spine and neatly covered with a 3" x 4.75" strip of the Parisian Breeze DSP.  I used a standard bone folder to crease between the cover and spine, making easier to open and close.

I kind of cheated on the inside pages... wanting something a little more stable than card stock but more flexible than On Board Chipboard, I chose to use the cardboard stabilizing inserts which accompany a new package of designer series paper, which I cut down to 6.5" x 4.25" and scored at 3.25" and glued along the bottom and side edges with Tombow Multi Adhesive.

 

To cut out the picture slots, I used the 1 3/8" Stampin' Up! square punch, to make a template first... punching multiple times to make the final 'hole' 1 3/4" x 2 3/4", large enough to accommodate a standard 2x3 photo.   After transferring the template to the inside of each photo holder page, I punched them all with my square punch.  An Exacto knife would work well for this step as well.

This was a fun personal challenge project to make... and I may offer it as a class next month, perhaps make a gift box too.  I guess I'm going to have to order some more of this Parisian Breeze Designer Series Paper too.. What do you think?

Sharon

Technorati Tags: designer series paper,parisian breeze,on board chip board,book

Mojo Monday Challenge 74 Dreaming in the Baja Breeze

Here is my Mojo Monday Challenge!  I always look forward to these as a jump-start to my week.  Today is particularly important as I did manage to clean my stamp room up a bit this weekend too!  All my stamps are in the shelves, all my ink pads and stampin' write markers are in their place and I'm ready to go to work!!

Stamps:   Elegant Cheer 114856 / set of 6 / $18.95, Dream A Little (Hostess Level 3)

Card Stock:  Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze, Whisper White

Accessories:  Crop - a- dile tool, Baja Breeze Striped 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, Soho Designer Hardwarde 114350 / 6 pieces/$4.95, Taste of Textiles Designer Series Paper 113991 / 10 sheets / $9.95

Here's the original challenge sketch just in case you want to try it yourself too!

Have a really great week!

Sharon

Technorati Tags: Mojo Monday,Taste of Textiles,Challenge 74

A Brayered Texture Plate Box

I'm really enjoying the new Stampin' Up! Sizzix Box #2 die!  The small rectangle box (item 114518) is so very easy to assemble and you only need add some tombow or sticky tape to one small flap!  The box is large enough to hold a granola bar, or several pieces of chocolate and is perfect for wedding or party favors too.

I made this box a couple weeks ago while prepping for an this stamp camp event.  This is not the box we ended up making, opting instead to make the pink rectangular box with buttons instead.  But, playing around in my tremendously trashed stamp room... I noticed my exclusive Stampin' Up! Backgrounds 1 texture plates (item114512 6 designs/$11.95) sitting next to my Big Shot machine.  The plates were noisy... calling out "I want to play too!"  I was working with Whisper White card stock, and thought I needed a little more than just texture, so grabbed my handy dandy brayer and went to work.  I was working with 12x12 paper as the box die is 11" long, so I had to brayer the stampin' up! backgrounds plate more than once and move it along the entire length of the whisper white card stock.  After running the texture plate through my Big Shot a couple of times, I then cut out the box using Box #2 die.  The embossing on the box was flattened a bit by the pressure of the plates... but I liked the end result... Perhaps next time I'll use Baja Breeze classic ink, you know it will only be around for a few more months as the In-Colors will retire when the new catalog comes out!

Remember... you can order all these products at my ONLINE Store CreatedByU.

Hope you had a wonderful weekend!

Sharon

Technorati Tags: Texture Plates,brayer,box 2

CD Book and Box Class Feb21st Sneak Peek

Have you seen some of those cute CD books on the Net?  I've been wanting to make one for a while... and my book and box class on February 21st was the perfect reason to design/create a book just for you!

This class is based on the Parisian Breeze Designer Series Papers and will be filled with pockets, pullouts, and pages perfect for hosting your photos, thoughts, and dreams.  As usual, I'll pre-cut all your pages and supplies.  All you will need to do is stamp 'n visit with friends while you leisurely assemble this adorable book!  The Parisian Breeze Designer Series Paper is double sided and textured.  The rich and colorful designs feature the in-color Baja Breeze along with our standard color coordinated card stock in Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, and Kraft.

I just love this new organdy ribbon too.. it's so soft and has an elegant 'hand' typical of something you may find in fine bridal wear or baby clothes.  The ribbon is quite easy to dye with your sponge daubers too... schedule a workshop during sale-a-bration, and I'll show you how!

Of course, we'll have a wonderful home made lunch too... what a perfect way to spend the day!  Seating is limited for this class.. make sure to RSVP early... find out more at my Online Shop:  CreatedByU or simply click the events link on my sidebar!

Oh.. and I forgot to tell you... just in case you want to make this as a special gift.. we'll also be making a special box which will fit this handmade book of memories!

 

I'm looking forward to hearing from you...

Have a Happy Valentines' Day!

Sharon

Technorati Tags: Double sided designer series paper,parisian breeze,cd book,box,class

Ribbon and Embellishment Clubs... only three spots remain

Edited to add the Kiwi Kiss corduroy buttons!! 2/16/09

Oops.. I guess I forgot to post this to my blog. I know many of you received my email newsletter about the ribbon and embellishment(s) I've formed. The details are below. To update those who have joined, the merchandise is currently in 'picking' at Stampin' Up! so I hope to send these out after the 15th of this month.

I still have a couple spots remaining for the basic club memberships... so please contact me if you'd like to be included, I'll ship your items priority mail after my shipment has arrived and we've had a day or two to cut and sort! Once the current club fills, I will begin a new one, and you can find my contact information by visiting my

Stampin' Up! Business Site: CreatedByU

So... here are the details:

Ribbon Club Basic Membership

Basic Rules:

• Each club needs 8 pre-paid memberships in order to work.
• You may have more than one membership in either club, or both.
• As each club fills, I will start another.

Receive one yard each of wonderful new Ribbons from the NEW Stampin' Up! Idea Book & Catalog, and at a fraction of the cost! Since you are only receiving one yard it will only cost you $17.00 (vs. $69.00 plus tax for full packages.) Double your ribbon club membership and receive two yards each for just $32.00!

Ribbon Club Basic Membership includes 1 yard of each of the following:

Dress Up Package Ribbons:

· So Saffron Ribbon

· Whisper White Ribbon

· Riding Hood Red

Pig Tails Package Ribbons:

· Kiwi Kiss double sided polka dot ribbon

· Pumpkin Pie rick rack ribbon

Valet Package Ribbons:

· Baja Breeze Ribbon

· Chocolate Chip polka dot ribbon

· Basic Black ribbon

Striped Ribbons:

· striped Old Olive ribbon

· striped Pretty in Pink ribbon

· striped So Saffron ribbon

Organza white ribbon

The basic ribbon club membership includes 12 yards of ribbon as described above and seen on pgs 178 and 179 of the NEW Stampin' Up! Idea Book & Catalog. I will place orders on or before the 15^th of the month & will deliver your ribbon sampler back to you within 14 days of the order going in. (If backordered I will contact you).

Offer available thru: Sharon Field, Independent Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator

The Embellishments Club Basic Membership

…Buttons, Brads, and Clips!

Basic Rules:

• Each club needs 8 pre-paid memberships in order to work.
• You may have more than one membership in either club, or both.
• As each club fills, I will start another.

Receive new Buttons, Brads and Clips from the NEW Stampin' Up! Idea Book & Catalog. The specific items are listed below, and since you are only receiving one of each, it will only cost you $16.00 (vs. $107.00 plus shipping/tax for full packages.) Double your embellishments club membership and receive two of each item for just $30.00!

Your Embellishments Club sampler includes the following 44 pieces.
3 Corduroy Buttons in each of the following colors:

· Chocolate Chip

· Kraft Corduroy

· Pacific Point

Kiwi Kiss

· Pumpkin Pie

· Summer Sun

3 ( 1/2") Library clips (one each Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Whisper White)
10 Latte Buttons (one of each style)
4 Jumbo (5/16") brads (one of each color: Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Whisper White, Silver)
4 Jumbo 5/8" brads (1 of each color: Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Whisper White, Silver)
1 Clear Rhinestone brad
4 Flower Assortment brads (one of each color: Pumpkin Pie, Pretty in Pink, So Saffron, Chocolate Chip)

This share includes 44 pieces as described above. Items can be viewed on pgs 174 thru 176 of the NEW Stampin' Up! Idea Book & Catalog. The orders will be placed on or before the 15^th of this month and you will receive your embellishment sampler within 14 days of the order going in. (If items are back ordered I will contact you).

Offer available thru: Sharon Field, Independent Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator

Sharon

Technorati Tags: club,membership,ribbon,embellishment,basic,stampin up

Happy Chinese New Year... Asian Inspired Kimono Book Mark Card

Happy Chinese New Year to all of you!  Today I am wrapping up the projects from my Asian Inspired Chinese New Year Stamp Camp.  I'm already working on techniques for next Wednesday's class... I'll be revisiting soot stamping three different ways... hope to see you there!

This is the final project we did at last weekends' Stamp Camp.  Inspired by Lynda Lee's tutorial, there were only a couple tricks and surprises we had to be aware of when making this card.  See Lynda's excellent tutorial HERE at "Lynda's Quiet Time."

 

This card was a hit... inside is a cute little bookmark/gift for the card recipient too!

Although it looks like multiple layers of ribbon, the Obi was made with basic black and whisper white card stock, and then tied with real red narrow grosgrain ribbon, isn't it fun?

One of the things that was tricky was stamping the inside folded edges of card stock... you can see my blossom smudge where I stamped and restamped in the lower half of the card... a learning experience I was able to share with my stampers so that they could avoid doing the same!

Another tip:  I did NOT glue the two layers of bookmark together.  They are simply held together with the jumbo eyelet.  I prefer to make bookmarks only attached at the top... so that the page slips between the layers of card stock.  The bookmark is less likely to slip from the book, holding snuggly onto the page.  Also, to hold the ribbon in place (you know... they always want to fall out...) simply put a glue dot under the fold in the ribbon... problem solved. 

Here's another view of this cute bookmark card.  We didn't add a greeting, even though Barbara told us exactly how to say happy new year in the Chinese language...  (I was really impressed with Barbara's language skills... all I can say in Chinese is "hi how are you" and "monkey"... and all I can remember how to write is man, woman, and big mouth... wonder who taught me that??) 

A hand written note would fit nicely on the back of the card or we could have left off some of the flowers on the bookmark and added a greeting, similar to how Lynda stamped her bookmark in her tutorial.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stamps:  Eastern Elegance

Card Stock:  Whisper White, Real Red, Basic Black

Accessories:  Jumbo Eyelet, Crop a dile tool, real red narrow grosgrain ribbon, corner rounder, real red stampin' write marker.

Well, thanks for visiting, and have a very happy, lucritive, and successful New Year!!

Sharon

Technorati Tags: Kimono Book Mark Card,Asian Inspired,Chinese New Year,Lynda Lee,tutorial

My First Kimono Card... or perhaps a bathrobe.

I cannot begin to tell you how many pieces of paper I chopped up when making this card!  Yikes... and you wouldn't believe the mess in my stamping room either.  When I first came up with the concept of my Asian Inspired Chinese New Year Stamp Camp, I knew I wanted to make a kimono card.  Quickly searching the internet, I thought hmm.. I can do better than that.... and what a mistake that assumption was!  This card probably took me two days to make... waaaaay to long in create mode.  The end result is ok.. but sometimes when I look at it, all I see is a bathrobe... definitely NOT my intention!  Hmm... Perhaps I'll resurrect this card for Fathers' Day... maybe... or maybe not!

 

First off... this card was a cutting and scoring nightmare.  NOT what you want to have to do before camp.  Well, I guess it wasn't that bad.. The Kimono or Ghi was cut from Barely Banana Card Stock measuring 5" x 8.5", scored at 1/4", 2.5", and 6.25" and stamped with the small flower from Baroque Motifs in Brilliant Blue Classic Ink.  The sleeves were cut 1" wide from the bottom edge UP 3" and then 1.5" was removed from the bottom edge of each sleeve.  Clear as mud?  Yup... cutting nightmare.

I used a cheater piece or self made template to cut the sleeve angles top right and left... reversing direction for opposing sleeves, and I did cheat with a zutter corner rounder to round all layers at once (the pink one... worked like a dream.)

After all the stamping and cutting was done, we folded the 1/4" flap over, and then folded a V into the neckline of the Ghi, slipped some of that wonderful FREE sale a bration ribbon around the waist and tied a bow before attaching to the brilliant blue card stock and finally the Certainly Celery Card Stock.

Whew... check back tomorrow.. for my CASE'd Kimono Card.  I'm sure you'll find it MUCH easier to do, I know I did!!

Sharon

Technorati Tags: Kimono,Ghi,Asian Inspired,zutter

Chinese New Year Stamp Camp Take Out Box, Fortune Cookies, and a take out box inspired card.

We had so much fun eating and stamping this weekend!  The Asian Inspired Chinese Stamp Camp was a big hit, I'm a bit worried about doing a by demand encore theme camp for March!  All I can think of is Beer and Potatoes!!  Guess I'll have to work on that one...

This was just one of the projects we made at the Chinese New Year Camp... a take out box complete with fortune cookies!  The fortunes can be computer generated, or stamped.  When I first began planning this camp, I used templates and tricks like crazy to make a take out box... and then I had an aha! moment... and ran to the local hobby and craft store to purchase pre-made ones!  Of course the pre-assembled take out boxes had a shiny surface quite unsuitable for stamping, so I just drafted panel pieces for the identical front and back of the box.

The image from Thoughts and Prayers was stamped on Kraft Card Stock and a white signo gel pen was used to dot the white centers of the blossoms.  A sponge dauber and white craft ink were used long the sides of the kraft and basic gray card stock adorning the front and back take out box panels.

The fortune cookies were fun to make too... much easier to make with designer series paper than card stock.  The Bigz Clear Circle Die (page 195 of the spring/summer idea book and catalog) made it very easy to cut multiple circles quickly.  To see how to easily make a fortune cookies from a circle, check this Scrapfriends USA Link.

Stampin' Up! Stamps:  Thoughts and Prayers

Classic Ink:  Basic Gray

Card Stock:  Basic Gray, Kraft, Whisper White

Accessories:  PVA Glue and toothpick, Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon, Bela Bleu Designer Series Paper, White Signo Gel Pen

I really liked the take out box panel... and it was the inspiration for this card too:

I used the template I had drawn for the take out box, but this time layered old olive, real red, and confetti white card stock onto my card front.  The Basic Black Layer was cut at 4.25 x 5.5" and the Confetti White card was cut 4.0" x 8.25 and scored at 3" to create the fold-over.  A real red marker was used to highlight the center of the blooms, and my trio flower punch was used to add the larger flowers with real red brad centers.

Everyone loved the grass beneath this tree... what a hoot that was!!  The grass was a 'mistake' er.. or... a 'creative opportunity' I had made with my old olive marker.  I really hated the mess I made and considered trashing the entire card before rescuing it with an aqua painter and additional scribbles made with the fine tip of my stampin' write marker.  REALLY... it almost went into the garbage!  I guess the rescue was complete because everyone wanted to know how to get their grass to look like mine!  Of course, I told them the whole story... round file and all. 

Supplies

Stamps:  Thoughts and Prayers

Card Stock:  Confetti White, Basic Black, Real Red, Old Olive

Ink:  Basic Gray, Real Red

Accessories:  Real Red and Old Olive Stampin' Write Marker, Old Olive Narrow Grosgrain Ribbon, Trio Flower Punch, sponge dauber, aqua painter, Bold Brights Brads

Have you signed up for the ribbon and embellishment club yet?  only a few spots remaining.

More Asian inspired cards tomorrow.. Chinese New Year is the 12th!!

Sharon

Technorati Tags: Asian Inspired,Chinese New Year,Thoughts and Prayers

Mojo Monday Challenge 73 and Good Morning Sunshine DSP

I'm really enjoying the Mojo Monday Challenges.. especially since it's a card layout and design I don't have to come up with myself!!  It's also really fun to go back and look at all the creations that others have shared, as each person and challenge entry adds something different and unique to the design.  Sorry for the double post today... I guess I need to wait until they post the challenge before posting to my blog!  That said... here's my Mojo Monday Challenge 73 entry!

Here's the original Mojo Monday Challenge 73 Sketch:

Aside from the Mojo Monday Challenge, my inspiration came from the Good Morning Sunshine Double Sided Designer Series Paper.  The bright colors and lively flowers will be featured in an upcoming one sheet wonder class which I'll be teaching next month too.  I've been working on that class and will add this card to the One Sheet Wonder Class too, thanks in part to Mojo Monday!

Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Card Stock:  So Saffron, Chocolate Chip, Pacific Blue, Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White

Classic Inks:  Kiwi Kiss, Pacific Point

Accessories:  Good Morning Sunshine Designer Series Paper, Bigz Clear Die,  eyelet border and slit punches, chocolate chip corduroy button, linen thread, glue dots, sponge dauber, Ribbon Bundle:  So Saffron Ribbon (page 5 of the sale-a-bration catalog)

Isn't it fun??  The best part was that the ribbon bundle is FREE when you order $50.00 or more in merchandise during Sale-A-Bration!!  Place your orders online, check for upcoming classes, and get even more inspirational ideas on my Stampin' Up! Website CreatedByU HERE.

Have a good day!

Sharon

Technorati Tags: Mojo Monday,Challenge,good morning sunshine,designer series paper

Asian Inspired... Chinese New Year Stamp Camp and Chinese Chicken Salad Recipe Too.

Many moons ago... I attend Marina Junior High School in San Francisco, as they lyrics go,"I left my heart in San Francisco." It's such a beautiful, warm, and friendly city! So... when I was looking for a theme to inspire a weekend stamp camp, I realized that Feb. 12th was Chinese New Year... how fun!

As I brainstormed projects for the camp, I knew I needed to feature a take out box, fortune cookies, and a Kimono or Ghi. And, of course, what's a stamp camp without home made food? Many years ago, I took Chinese cooking classes from a lovely lady named Shu Min Tse. Shu Min was from the Szechuan Provence of China, and and excellent teacher who not only focused on the techniques of slicing, shredding, stir fry, etc... but she also recited the history of the dishes we prepared. At the end of each class, we were fortunate enough to eat all the wonderful dishes we made too! Mulling over the food prep for camp, I decided that authentic Chinese cooking just wasn't going to fit into our schedule... after all, we did have to stamp too! I opted for Chung's frozen white meat chicken egg rolls (instead of the home made spring rolls I often do make), Almond tea cookies, fresh cherries, and chinese chicken salad.

Post-Camp, I can tell you that both the menu and the stampin' were big hits! Here's a sneak peek of the projects we made... I'll share instructions and close ups over the next couple of days.

And here's the Chinese Chicken Salad Recipe I promised all my Stamp Camp Attendees:

Ingredients for Salad

1 deli chicken, de-boned and cut into bit size pieces

1 head iceberg lettuce shredded with a knife

1 bunch scallions cut 1/2" pieces on an angle, Chinese style

2 packages of ramen noodles (discard seasoning packet)

3/4 cup toasted slivered almonds (toast in 350 degree oven 5 mins, shake and toast 5 more minutes... let cool completely before adding to salad.)

Optional: shredded carrot, green pepper, celery, and/or water chestnuts

Ingredients for dressing

3 TBSP sesame oil

2 TBSP Canola Oil

1 Cup Seasoned Rice Wine Vinegar

1/4 tsp white pepper

2 TBSP Splenda (or 5 TBSP white sugar)

Instructions:

Mix all salad ingredients together and store in refrigerator.

Mix all dressing ingredients together, store at room temperature.

Right before serving the salad, add dressing and toss completely.

Enjoy! Stay tuned tomorrow for more on my Asian Inspired Stamp Camp! Thanks for looking!

Sharon

Technorati Tags: Asian Inspired,chinese chicken salad,fortune cookies

Remaking My Bella Bleu Stamp Camp Card

Sometimes we make cards that just don't seem finished... and sometimes we even find a little extra time to re-work a project.  I actually found a bit of that time this past week.  While prepping for my down-line training class, I decided to revisit one of the cards which I had featured at a recent stamp camp.  The card used new SU Bella Bleu Designer Series Paper and the exclusive embossing templates... look at the original Bella Bleu card HERE... just to the left of the bella blue dsp bag.

To emboss the image on the very vanilla cardstock, I took a hint from fellow demo Rosemarie Diehl, who suggested lightly spritzing the card stock with household rubbing alcohol would yield a deeper embossed image.  After checking with my students re:  alcohol, breathing problems, allergies, etc.  we opted to use the rubbing alcohol when embossing.  The problem:  the cardstock became much more flimsy and weak after being doused and subsequently tortured by the embossing plate.  Of course, everyone really liked the original card, but now that I've reworked it, I believe they would like this one much more!  So.. here's the new re-worked version of my bella bleu designer series paper card!

Much better, isn't it? 

Stampin' Up! Stamps:  Sincere Salutations

Classic Ink:  Brocade Blue

Card Stock:  Very Vanilla, Brocade Blue

Accessories:  Eyelet Border Punch, Bella Bleu Designer Series Paper, Very Vanilla Taffeta Ribbon, Wide Oval Punch, 2 way glue pen, dazzling diamonds, stampin' dimensionals, glue dots, sponge dauber, exclusive embossing templates.

Stay tuned.... this week I'll be featuring projects (and a special recipe) from my Asian Inspired Chinese New Year Stampin' Class!

Sharon

Technorati Tags: bella bleu,designer series paper,embossing

A card for my Alden Road Club, and Princess Demo 5 Year Pin

This was a quick and cute card made for and by my Alden Road Card Club.  We used "God's Beauty" and changed up the verse... adding birthday, thinking of you, etc.  instead of the lovely verse provided in the set.  (Public school, God... you know politics.)  I always try to keep the projects relatively simple so the kids can easily recreate them.

 

Card Stock:  Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, Very Vanilla

Classic Ink:  Perfect Plum

Stamps:  God's Blessing

Pale Plum Card Stock:  8" x 5.5" scored at 3.75"

Perfect Plum Card Stock: 3.25" x 4.25" (for front of card) and 1/2" x 5.5" for inside edge of card

Very Vanilla Card Stock:  2.25" x 3" (for butterfly) and 1.5 x 3" for verse

 

 

 

What on earth is a Princess Demo 5 Year Pin?  That's kind of a funny story!!  I recently had a visitor from Canada, Evelyn Wood.  Evelyn was here in Jacksonville working for about a month, and in desperate need of creative stampin' time.  She happened to mention how much her 7 year old daughter loved to help with stamp camps, sorting orders, etc.  Evelyn recently received her 5 year demo pin from Stampin' Up! and her daughter wanted to know where hers was... after all, she's been up in the cold north sorting orders and working while Evelyn has been here in sunny (or not so sunny) Florida for a month.  Evelyn shared that her daughter was all about the bling (what 7 year old girl isn't??) and EVERY 7 year old girl is about being a full fledged Princess.  So... I made this bling-y pin as a parting gift for Evelyn's daughter. I wrote a silly little story about the pin elements that only a 7 year old can appreciate too.. 5 diamonds, 5 petals, etc.  I hope she likes it!!

Evelyn promised to post a picture of her daughter wearing the pin on her blog... we'll have to watch for it on Evelyn's Blog:  The Stamping Siren.

Got to get back to work!!

Sharon

Technorati Tags: Card Club,Alden Road,5 year pin,demo,the stamping siren

1st Wednesday Card Club... Part 2 of 2

At leadership, 2009 Stampin' Up! showed us a couple really fabulous stair step cards on the 'big screen'.  Unlike many step cards or accordian fold cards, theirs fit perfectly in an A2 envelope... and appeared to be more of a normal sized card.  (Other step cards are usually an odd shape, and don't occupy much of the envelope... check them out at splitcoast stampers:  TLC190.)

My 1st Wednesday Card Club members were delighted with this cute little card made with the new Spring/Summer Idea Book and Catalog stamp set "Just Buzzin' By"  I know, they had to color and cut a couple images, but it really didn't take much time at all!  I have to say all of their cards turned out fabulous too!  The card is sturdy enough to stand up on it's own when a bone folder is used on all the scored lines too!  Here's how to make this cute card...

So Saffron Cardstock:  4.25" x 10.25" and scored at 1.25", 2.5", 4.25", 6", 8.25"

Bone fold all scored lines.

Stamp Bee Hive and Honey Pot images from the Just Buzzin' By Stamp Set onto Watercolor Paper, and use an aqua painter with watercolor wonder crayons to color images before cutting them out with your handy dandy paper snips.

Stamp "have a honey of a day" to the far right on 1st (small) scored edge of the multi-scored so saffron piece and attach the honey pot to the right.  I used some bordering blue water color wonder crayon and an aqua painter to create a shadow below the honey pot too.

The bee hive was attache to the next 'mountain' fold, and a grass "shadow" was painted below with the water color wonder crayons and aqua painter.

Next, Cut Basic Black Card Stock 4.25" x 5.25" and glue the bottom 1/3 between the 6" and 8.25" scored lines.  The last scored 'flap' will serve as an easel to support the card when standing it up on a table.

Cut So Saffron Card Stock 4" x 5" and glue to basic black piece attached earlier.

Cut Confetti White Card Stock 3.75" x 4.75" and stamp daffodil images along narrow (bottom) edge, varying the height of the daffodils.  Next, stamp the bee in the upper left corner, and finally the words below the bee.  Watercolor Wonder Crayons and Aqua Painter were used to paint the bee and flowers before attaching them to the So Saffron background.

Add some dazzling diamonds here and there for sparkle... and you have a really fun and unique little card!  The overall card is just a tad bit smaller than a standard A2 card, but that is necessary to accommodate for the bulk and folds of the card.

Stamps:  Just Buzzin' By

Classic Ink:  Basic Black

Card Stock:   So Saffron, Basic Black, Confetti White, Watercolor Paper

Acccessories:  Water Color Wonder Crayons, Aqua Painter, bone folder, dazzling diamonds, two way glue pen, paper snips

Here's a tutorial for the stair step / accordian fold card on splitcoast stampers':  TLC190 It's a little different from mine... but you've got the basic idea!

Hope you like it!

Sharon

Technorati Tags: water color wonder crayons,aqua painter,splitcoast stampers,stair step card,just buzzin by